Book shelves



May 13, 1958 A'. s, MACDONALD BOOK SHELVES Original Filed Jan, 1'7. 1949 I mw United States Patent O BOOK SHELVS Angus Snead Macdonald, near Rapidan, Va., assignor to Carthage Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application January 17, 1949, Serial No. 71,287. Divided and this application August 19, 1953, Serial No. 375,129

2 Claims. (Cl. 211-136) This application is a division of my prior application for Book Shelves, Serial No. 71,287, filed January 17, 1949, now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in book shelves of the character used in stack columns for supporting books, especially in large libraries. lt has been customary heretofore to use shelves for library book stacks made of parallel inverted U-shaped bars secured either to upright standards or to bracket stack columns, but such multiple bars added complexity to the structure and difliculties of bracing and rigidity.

An object of this invention is to simplify and improve book shelves either for the bracket or for the standard type of book stack, to provide a better and more economical design for manufacture and use.

Another object of the invention is to provide for ready and secure attachment of book shelf bars to supporting brackets therefor, whereby the bars are held in place on the brackets, capable of separation and removal therefrom when desired. i

A further object of the invention s to improve the construction of the supporting brackets for the book shelf to enable the bracket to be formed from a single sheet of metal with struck-out portions for connection with upright columns, and also, if desired, with spring connections forsupporting the shelf. y

These objects may be accomplished, according to one embodiment of the invention, by providing a supporting bracket for each opposite end-of a shelf formed preferably of sheet metal of required thickness and strength with struck-out lugs thereon that may engage selectively in openings in an upright column for supporting the brackets securely and detachably thereon. The same bracket may be provided, if desired, with spaced upright spring clips, preferably formed integral with the bracket for engaging the edge portions of the shelf. The shelf may be formed of one or more shelf bars having inturned edges that may be engaged by the clips under the bottom of the bar so as to conceal the clips from View and to provide for effective mounting of the bars on the supporting brackets.

This embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a horizontal section through a standard column showing a supporting angle bracket applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof showing the book shelf bars in section;

Fig. 3 is a verticalsection on the line 3--3 in Fig. 2 with the bars removed; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a portion of a standard column book stack.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the boo-k shelf has a supporting surface for the books formed by a plurality of relatively wide bars as distinguished from the multiplicity of narrow bars provided heretofore. Each of these supporting bars is designated generally by the numeral 1.

These bars 1 preferably are formed of cold rolled continuous coiled strip of a suitable material, such as steel or aluminum, that may be fabricated to provide the desired structure.- Each of the bars has a top surface 2 with downturned opposite edges 3 as shown particularly in Fig. 2, which opposite edges form edge walls. The lower edge 'of each wall 3 is bent inward to form a bottom flange li that has a rolled inner edge 5, which both eliminates a sharp edge and also stiffens the flange.`

The top surface 2 of each bar preferably is corrugated to provide greater resistance against bending, to provide for ventilation under the books, to prevent the bottom edges of the books from being worn by rubbing along a continuous gritty surface, and to harden and strengthen the metal by cold working.

The upright wall 3 along each opposite edge of each bar is provided with an indented groove 6 which serves several purposes. First, it is adapted to receive a shelf y label-holder at the front of the shelf that will conveniently designate the contents of the shelf. Second, it provides for a T-lock book support that will slide along the space between adjacent bars, and which support has a T-like projection that will engage the flanges of the grooves, whereby these book supports can either stand upright on the same shelf vwith the books to be supported'or they may hang underneath the shelf to hold the books on the i shelf below. Third, the flanges of the grooves will increase considerably the strength of the bars against bendlng.

This form of bar permits economical production on a cold rolling mill so as to form a rigid and Vsecure support for thebooks, and is adaptable to a wide variety of uses either for hinging attachment to supporting brackets or for secure support on angle brackets, according to the character of supporting columns used in forming the book stack. Even though made relatively wider than the narrow bars used heretofore, this form of bar affords a secure shelf support for the books that enables the shelf to be formed even of two bars, or of more than two bars, as desired.

p In constructing a shelf with two bars strongly flanged along their edges, there is stiffness not only at the front and back of the shelf but also along the middle of the shelf. The bars are wide enough, and each is strong enough, `so they do not need tobe braced one against another transversely at the middle of their length, asV

would be necessary with a shelf made of a multiplicity of narrow bars constructed as heretofore used. Due to the efficient disposition of the metal in the bars, the required strength for supporting loads of books can be obtained with thinner metal than is possible with the ordinary shelf made of one sheet of steel, even though triple flanged along the front and back edges.

The shelf bars may be supported if desired by brackets, generally indicated at 23, at the opposite ends thereof. Each bracket 23 should extend throughout the width of each shelf, and where the shelf is formed of a pair of bars 1, as indicated generally in Fig. 2, both bars will be supported at each end on a single bracket 23.

The angle brackets 23 are of angle form in cross section and are adapted to support the bars 1 on the horizontal flange thereof while the upright flange is adapted to be placed against a standard column generally designated at 24. The column 24 has spaced slots 2S therein to receive projected lugs 26 formed on the angle bracket 23 to engage firmly in the slots 25 and supporting the bracket 23 on the column. It will be noted from Fig. 3 that the lugs 26 extend angularly straight downward and have a wedging action with the column 24 thereby to clamp and hold the bracket 23 against any looseness or rattling and possible disengagement.

The bracket 23 also has spaced upright spring clips 27 on the horizontal flange thereof arranged in pairs to engage the rolled beads 5 on the lower flanges of the bars 1 and thereby hold the bars 1 firmly in place on the supporting brackets 23 against transverse disassembly therefrom. These clips 27 are so designed that `they will exert a spring grip on the beaded edges 5 and yet will allow the bars to be forced into place and removed again when desired. The angle brackets 23 can be made by a continuous process, a stamping operation, jointly with the bars.

Each bracket 23 may be formed in a stamping operation, as noted above, not only to shape the bracket to Iangle form, as illustrated in Fig. 3, but also to form integrally therewith Vboth the projecting lugs 26 and the upright clips 27, which may be stamped or struck out from the body of the bracket in a single operation. This simpliles the manufacture of the brackets and reduces the cost thereof.

By mounting the bars 1 forming the shelf upon brackets 23 with upright clips 27 engaging the inner edges of the respective bars, the clips are concealed effectively and serve to hold the bars Securely in place on the brackets Without danger of accidental or undesirable removal therefrom. The bars do not depend solely upon gravity to hold them in place, nor yet are they sufllciently free to be disengaged accidentally from the brackets, but the spring clips engaging the under inner edges thereof serve as effective and secure supports for the bars.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in one embodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention as specified in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a book shelf, the combination with a wide shelf bar having a top wall and downturned front and rear walls, each of said ldownturned walls having horizontal llanges extending inwardly toward each other from the lower edges of said downturned walls, the inner edges of the flanges being curved upwardly toward said top wall, of supporting brackets secured to spaced upright columns for the opposite ends of the shelf bar, said brackets having horizontal flange portions extending inwardly toward each other upon which the ends of said shelf bar are supported, a pair of struck-out upstanding spring clips carried by the flange portion of each bracket, and said pair of clips being spaced apart a distance approximately corresponding with the spacing of the upwardly curved inner edges of the shelf bar flanges and having outwardly directed faces engaging said upwardly curved edges.

2. 'In combination, a book shelf comprising a pair of spaced horizontal elongated columns, each column having spaced vertical rows of spaced openings in the inner side thereof, an elongated L-shaped bracket member bearing against the inner Side of each column, said bracket member having intermediate the upper and lower edges of the vertical wall thereof outward and downward tongues extending in a straight line, each engaging the column through one of said openings, the horizontal flanges of sa'id brackets extending toward eachother, a wide shelf having downwardly extending front and rear walls and flanges extending inwardly toward each other from the lower edges of said downwardly extending walls, the inner edges of said flanges curved upwardly, each L-shaped bracket having a pair of spaced upwardly extending spring clips, the spacing of the clips corresponding to the spacing between the upwardly curved inner edges of the shelf flanges, said clips having outwardly directed faces engaging said upwardly curved inner edges of said shelf flanges, whereby the weight of said shelf bar will cause said straight line outwardly and downwardly extending tongues to wedge upon the lower edges of the associated openings in the columns and said upwardly curved inner edges of said shelf flanges to be engaged and clamped by said outwardly directed faces of said spring clips.

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 754,817 Schriefer Mar. 15, 1904 908,772 Hoffmann Jan. 5, 1909 989,566 Callaghan Apr. 18, 1911 1,273,215 Goldthwait July 23, 1914 1,375,869 Vance Apr. 26, 192] 1,587,693 vBeland June 8, 1926 1,913,817 Parmet June 13, 1933 1,979,902 Potter et al Nov. 6, 1934 2,097,988 Ross et al Nov. 2, 1937 2,104,831 Duskardt Jan. 11, 1938 2,604,213 Bales et al July 22, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS.

106,773 Great Britain June 7, 1917 163,242 Switzerland Oct. 2, 1933 590,074 Great Britain July 8, 1947 711,280 France June 23, 1931 

